A radar detector is simply a radio frequency receiver which is tuned to detect the microwave radio signal frequencies produced by police radar guns. A lot of other devices also produce these same radio frequencies. The automatic door opener at your local supermarket, which your kids love to run up to so that they can watch the doors magically open, most likely uses a microwave radio transceiver which is very similar to the one used inside a police radar gun. Some security systems use microwave transceivers to detect the motion of burglars. A radar detector simply produces visual and audio alerts which get stronger as the radar detector gets closer to the source of the microwave radio signal. So in essence a radar detector is just like your car’s AM radio in that a radar detector’s alert gets stronger, just as your AM radio gets louder the closer you get to the broadcast signals from the AM radio station’s antenna. Indeed, some very old radar detector models had a speaker which simply produced a tone that became louder as the radar detector got closer to the radio source. In short, radar detectors are simply radio receivers — nothing more and nothing less.
The general public holds the very common misconception that using a radar detector is either illegal or that the only reason for using a radar detector is to break the law. In the United States, radar detectors are completely legal to use in all states except in Virginia and in the District of Columbia. Indeed, many states repealed their bans against radar detectors after the 55 mph national speed limit was repealed by congress years ago. Yet these very same states have seen a reduction over the years in highway death rates even though they both raised their speed limits and made radar detectors legal to use. Moreover, the vast majority of experienced drivers who use radar detectors do not use these devices to intentionally break the law. Instead most radar detector owners use these devices to be more aware of their driving habits so that they do not break the law. There are exceptions of course. Most notable are teenagers and young adults who are still infatuated with the thrill of driving a car and sometimes driving really fast! We have all been there as a young adult. If you don’t admit to this then either you are lying to yourself or you were one of the small class of young drivers who took their driving responsibilities extraordinarily seriously. Well, regardless of whether or not these young drivers have a radar detector, their excessive driving habits will eventually get them a speeding ticket. Radar detectors do not make you immune to speeding tickets, and a radar detector is not a magical device which gives you either the right to break the law or the ability to do so with impunity. Any experienced driver who has used a radar detector for a considerable amount of time will tell you this too.
Most experienced radar detector users generally drive with the flow of traffic and use these handy electronic devices to alert them about the presence of an upcoming speed trap, to frequently alert them on days when law enforcement is very active, to pass the time on long road trips, and to help keep them more alert to their driving and the road conditions in general. Indeed, years ago a study was published which statistically proved that drivers who use radar detectors were safer drivers and were involved in fewer accidents compared to drivers who do not use radar detectors. These very same experienced radar detector users also know that no electronic device, no matter how sophisticated, is going to prevent them from getting speeding tickets if they consistently speed. On days when law enforcement is very active, experienced radar detector users simply continuously drive at or below the posted speed limit and then relax and enjoy their drive. This generally causes other cars to drive slower as well. Yet radar detector owners do then enjoy watching other drivers who are speeding being pulled over simply because they weren’t aware that their speed was being monitored by law enforcement.
Why Should I Use a Radar Detector?
This is a good question, especially if you are a law abiding citizen! Quite simply, to help you be more aware of your driving habits, to stay better alert on long road trips, to be more aware of traffic around you, and to be more aware of road conditions in general. Numerous NHTSA and state studies have shown that the majority of drivers tend to drive at speeds which they feel are both comfortable and safe for the general road conditions — regardless of the posted speed limit. This is why the government and states saw a sudden drop in accident and highway death rates when speed limits were raised from the national 55 mph speed limit. What? That doesn’t seem to make sense. After all, we have all been told for years that speed kills! When the national speed limit was 55 mph, most drivers ignored it. Yet many conscientious drivers did drive at the 55 mph speed limit. This created large discrepancies in the speeds of vehicles on highways and interstates and contributed to accidents. A U.S. government publication notes that motorists are much safer when all vehicles are traveling at very similar speeds. Lane changes, one of the prevailing causes of highway accidents, are in general much safer to accomplish if all of the surrounding vehicles are traveling at similar speeds.
As mentioned, drivers tend to drive at a speed which they feel is both safe and comfortable — regardless of the posted speed limit. Unfortunately in some areas the speed limit is set at an unreasonably slower speed compared to the speed at which 85% of drivers feel is the correct and safe driving speed. The general public commonly refers to these areas as “speed traps”, and law enforcement and local officials love these areas since they are a source of juicy revenue from speeding tickets. This is a good example of where a radar detector can save you, the law abiding citizen who is merely safely traveling along with the general flow of traffic, from being singled out to receive a speeding ticket. Regardless of what law enforcement agencies proclaim, out-of-state motorists tend to be unfairly targeted since the presumption is that out-of-state motorists will simply pay their fines rather than waiting around for a couple of weeks for their court dates. The right to a speedy trial pretty much goes out the window for out-of-state motorists since most courts are backlogged to begin with, and since very few out-of-state motorists will either hang around or return for their court date to rightfully contest an unfair and biased speeding ticket.
Radar detectors are fun on long road trips! Why? Because a radar detector gives you something to do and to observe while driving along for hours on end. Some radar detector models even have features to deliberately help keep you alert on long drives. Thus a radar detector can help to keep you much more alert on those long and monotonous drives. More importantly and especially when traveling out-of-state and through unfamiliar territory, a radar detector will keep you more alert as you approach towns, cities, or large metropolitan areas. This extra “road awareness” is a key factor not only in helping to prevent you from getting an unintentional speeding ticket, but also to let you know of areas where the local law enforcement likes to operate. Law enforcement, in their effort to make our highways safer, likes to operate radar in areas where both speeding and accidents are common. Thus a radar detector can serve as your advance warning system, much like a weather radio warns you of approaching severe weather, for oncoming road conditions and local driver habits which could make your drive more dangerous.
A radar detector can warn you of an accident scene which is located a mile or more down the road ahead. Many law enforcement agencies teach their officers to leave their radar guns turned on when they are at an accident scene. Thus your radar detector can give you advance warning that “something is up” regarding the road ahead. This in turn will make you more aware that you should be prepared to slow down well before approaching an accident scene. Some municipalities have also implemented the Safety Warning System (SWS) by installing special radar transmitters which radiate warning messages to motorists equipped with radar detectors which can both detect and display SWS text warning messages. This is a technology which, although around for years, has only seen sparse implementation across the United States. SWS is in need of some serious federal funding since radar detector manufacturers have equipped their products with this feature for several years now. Imagine approaching a railroad crossing and having your radar detector warn you via a text message that a train is approaching, or imagine seeing a text message for an approaching emergency vehicle! The life which your radar detector could save may well be your own.
Can Radar Detector Usage Make Our Roads Safer?
This idea sounds like utter blasphemy to most law enforcement agencies and to many politicians! In their view this is akin to cracking the seals on the Book of the Dead and waiting for all of Hades and global destruction to break loose. Yet the stated goal of every law enforcement agency which patrols our highways and interstates is to make our roads safer. Politicians also tout this goal, complete with halos above their heads, when proposing legislation to ban radar detectors. Presently only about 4% of drivers use radar detectors. Yet, if this number were to rise to at least 10% or perhaps to 15% then law enforcement officers could usefully patrol much larger stretches of our highways while at the same time being far more effective at keeping most motorist speeds within reasonable and safe bounds. Why, you have got to wonder? Quite simply because if 10% or more of drivers with radar detectors slow down to the posted speed limit when detecting radar then the effect is that nearly all other drivers will be forced to slow down to the posted speed limit. Why? Because if 10% or more of drivers with radar detectors have slowed down, then it will either be much more difficult to pass these drivers or because other drivers will see the alerts from the radar detectors within the cars of the 10% or more of drivers who use radar detectors. Thus increased radar detector usage would result not only in our roads being safer, but also in significantly less law enforcement manpower needed to patrol given stretches of highways and interstates.
A good example is Virginia where radar detectors are illegal. Many radar detector users note that VA troopers, compared to their own states where radar detectors are legal, must employ nearly four times the manpower to have any effect on reducing speeding or to reduce traffic flow to safe and reasonable limits, quite simply because VA motorists who can’t use radar detectors are completely unaware that they are under surveillance by law enforcement. Moreover, VA law enforcement tends to only go after motorists who exceed 80 mph since then additional and very expensive revenue generating “reckless driving” fines are imposed, regardless of the fact that the general traffic flow on VA’ rural and highways and interstates averages 78 mph! In other words, VA politicians have made it “extremely profitable” to only go after drivers within VA who have excessively exceeded the posted speed limit or who are driving at more than 80 mph. So this brings up another reason to use a radar detector. Contrary to what most law enforcement agencies and politicians preach, the bountiful revenue from speeding citations consistently and politically outweighs all agency cited safety goals of keeping our roads safer for all motorists.
The point which is trying to be made is that, contrary to what both the general public and many politicians erroneously perceive, is that radar detectors are far from the “evil” or illegal devices which they have been made out to be. The radar detector manufactures have known all of the above facts for years. This is why they have no moral reservations regarding the products which they manufacture, market and sell. Its about time that the general public becomes aware of the numerous positive benefits of using radar detectors. Moreover, politicians who are truly interested in making our highways and interstates safer, irregardless of revenue, should realize that motorists using radar detectors are less likely to excessively speed, are more likely to drive at or very close to the posted speed limit, are more likely to be more alert and aware of other vehicles and road conditions, and that they have a positive effect on slowing down other motorists who are not using radar detectors. In other words, radar detectors communicate to motorists that they are under surveillance and that they should slow down to the posted speed limit. Yet this only works if police officers transmit radar gun signals and if motorists are allowed or even encouraged to freely use radar detectors to receive these signals in order to “get the message” from law enforcement.